Fire Emblem: Awakening (Parallel Worlds)
by D'artEtoile
Summary: Fredrick scoffs. "My good lady, if I had ever let any amnesiac person come and help milord and milady, I'm fairly certain that they would have been dead already. Not to mention that you are wearing Plegian robes." She flinches. No. No more. No more. No more.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 "**By Fate We Meet**"

"Oh! You're awake!"

"Hey there,"

She feels like she's in a daze. She blinks her eyes once then twice before looking back to the two people hovering above her. A young man and a girl.

"There are better places than the ground to nap you know,"

She could barely put her thoughts together. She tries to think back about what happened but everything was a huge blank. She looks around, but instead of feeling familiarity with her surrounding, it only increases her confusion. Where was she? What was she doing here? She blinks in surprise when a hand came into view, blocking off the view of the trees. Trailing her eyes to the owner of the hand, she was greeted with a small smile by the young man. "Here, give me your hand."

She smiles back albeit shyly and takes his hand.

"Thank you Chrom."

Chrom. The name rolls off of her tongue so easily.

Yes. That's his name.

But Chrom suddenly frowned, "Erm, how do you know my name?". She frowns as well. Was she not supposed to know? She glances down and notices that their still holding hands. "Curious that the lady had knows of milord's name." Said a new voice. All three heads turn to look at the newcomer. A heavily armored knight came into the conversation.

"May we know of yours?"

He smiles politely but she couldn't help but feel a sudden chill when he directed it at her.

"I- I My name… It's uhm-" Her heart pumped faster, her breathing became erratic and then her mind went sporadic. She tries to recall back on her memories but it's futile. All she could recall was a sea of an endless abyss and a sickening feeling that she could associate to drowning.

Then her mind went blank save for memory of someone calling out a name.

The way the person say it sounded as if that person was dear to them. She feels her chest filled with warmth, and she wonders whether it's her name. She looks up to the knight who had been staring at her with suspicion. Just as he was about to say something, she quietly said the name.

The knight furrowed his eyebrows and presses his lips to a thin line whereas the blonde girl took a step closer and leaned in, "Sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite-

"She said her name's Eltri."

Eltri's head shot up to look at Chrom. The young man looked down and took in the details of the young woman in front of him. She was quite short; the top of her head barely reached his shoulders. Her eyes he noticed were light gray with green specks. Her white hair had been tied to a low side pony tail with light pink flower hair tie that he hasn't seen before. The girl was pale but because of that he could easily notice the blush on her face.

Judging from her face which still had a little bit of baby fat, the young woman in front of him would probably between the age of him and his sister. Chrom wonders if she was closer to his age or Lissa's. The fact that she was wearing such a heavy robe covering her figure wasn't helping either…

Chrom must have stared and stayed silent for too long. He snapped out of his trance when the girl pulls her hand away and tightens the coat around her form. She huffs and takes a step back whereas Lissa suddenly stood in between of her and Chrom. The blonde haired princess glares at her brother and places her hands to her hips. Her brother blinks in confusion.

"Err, yes Lissa?"

Lissa snorts, unbecoming of a princess, yes she knows, and narrows her eyes at him before swiftly turning around to address the girl.

Chrom was even more confused. He turned to look at his second in command and found that even Fredrick the wary was giving him the _look. _"What?" He snaps, irritation bubbling up inside of him. "Why are you all staring at me like that?" Chrom didn't quite like the fact that both of his companions just gave him a look. Was it so hard to just what's going on?

Fredrick coughed to his hand. "Milord did you not realize that you had been staring at the lady for quite some time?"

The blue haired prince scratched his cheek with a finger. "Um, I was kind of just studying her- I don't get what's going on here-

This time it was Fredrick's turn to narrow his eyes at him. "Milord, forgive me for being so blunt but even I would think of the same thing when a man stares at a lady. Directly at her bosoms nonetheless." Heat exploded onto Chrom's face and the young prince of Ylisse had never wanted to be swallowed alive by the ground so badly till now.

"Oh gods, Fredrick that was never my intention! I was just- You know I'm not that kind of man!" To his surprise Fredrick nods. "Of course milord." At that Chrom breathed a sigh of relief. "I would have never doubted you. I'm sure that this… This woman is a sorceress that had temporarily charmed you into staring at her bosoms." Chrom's humiliation came back a hundred times stronger than before.

How could Fredrick say such a thing with a serious face?!

Fredrick gave Chrom a reassuring smile whereas the prince could only openly gape at his knight. "Do not worry milord. I shall protect you and lady Lissa from-

"Hey, Eltri's gonna come with us to the capital okay?"

The two men both stood in shock. Lissa quickly used the opportunity to introduce each them to the shy snow haired woman. Fredrick was the first one to break out of his initial shock. "M-milady, she could be an assassin sent from Plegia! This could all be an act and we're falling right for her trap!" Fredrick all but shouted.

Lissa shook her head and folded her hands behind her back. "Nope. Eltri says that she's not sure where she's going or if she had been traveling with someone. At the very least we could accompany her to the capital; she could find information there about other things." Then with a solemn look she said. "I think this is what you call amnesia. Maybe the city has something that would help her get her memories back. Or maybe there's someone there who knows her!"

When she saw that Fredrick was about to protest, Lissa quickly stomped her foot. "No! We are not leaving a defenseless young woman out here alone! What happens if she encounters a group of lecherous – Chrom could only looked down in shame when he met his sister's eyes when she said the word- men? What then Fredrick? Doesn't this fall into our responsibility to help those in need? Isn't that why the reason the Shephards was created?"

Sometimes, Chrom thought, Lissa could put up quite an argument. Maybe she might fare better in court politics. Not that he was any good at that sort of thing either way. Chrom had thought it had been the end of the discussion but apparently Fredrick wasn't finished.

"But she wears cloak from Plegia! She's a Grimleal! Please reconsider milady! She could endanger us all!"

Chrom shifted his stance to the side. He could now see the young lady standing behind Lissa, clutching tightly on to her cloak with a look of hurt on her face. Chrom knew he had to step in.

"Peace Fredrick!"

"But milord-

Chrom sighed and placed a hand to Falchion's hilt. "If she had wanted to kill us, why not when we were distracted? Why not now when we've let our guard down? Besides, Lissa has a point."

It wasn't until a few minutes later that the problem was solved when Eltri herself had volunteered to be taken as Fredrick's prisoner. And while Lissa was against the idea 'how dare you treat a lady that way Fredrick! Shame on you!' it was the only way for the knight himself to agree on taking Eltri with them. Eltri allowed Fredrick to tie a rope around her wrist and walked beside the knight. Fredrick had opted to walk behind his masters just so he can watch the three of them at the same time. With one hand on the rope, the other hand was used to steer his war horse alongside of him.

Lissa had apologized to Eltri about the treatment and Fredrick's behavior. Calling him, '_Fredrick the wary_' While the knight himself claimed that it was a title that he wore with pride. Knowing him, both Chrom and Lissa knew that he probably wasn't kidding. For the most part, Eltri kept her eyes trained on to the ground. That is until she accidentally bumped into the princess causing the both of them to stumble forward.

Fredrick had pulled the rope back so hard that she ended up falling backwards and landing on her rear. The intensity of his glare would have probably rivaled the sun and burned her right on the spot. Eltri shivered and quickly looked down.

"C-Chrom! The village is on fire!"

"Let's go!" Chrom had climbed up to his horse who was then followed by Fredrick. Lissa too was about to run only to remember about the white haired woman. She stops and turns around to face the young woman. "But Chrom! What about Eltri!"

Her brother didn't even turn his head around. "Unless she's on fire as well then the village is our main priority!" Lissa looked down to the ground and bit her lower lips. "It's fine."

Eltri knew the signs of guilt and Lissa was already an open book. The snow haired woman smiled slightly at the blonde. "I'll be fine, go." The princess opened her mouth to protest but was silenced a wave of a hand. "Your brother's right. Those people need you more Lissa. Go." Lissa closes her mouth and tightens her hands into fists. She walks over and extends her hand for the Plegian woman to take which she does. With a light pull, Eltri was back on her feet once more. "Be careful alright?"

The light haired woman smiled at the girl's kindness. Lissa notices how her eyes seemed lighter when she smiles. Eltri nods and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Go."

In a matter of seconds Eltri found herself left alone in the middle of the dirt path by the trio. She dusted her robes as best as she could and looked back to the burning village. She notices the markings on her hand was similar as the ones etched on her robe. She thought back about what the wary knight had called her. She didn't quite like the way Fredrick had addressed her. It was as if he had viewed her as nothing but trash. His words earlier had also hurt her and she knew that she was quite close to crying.

She wonders whether she should flee and runaway to someplace else. Away from all the accusing looks, accusatory remarks and judgmental eyes.

She doesn't want to stay in the company of people who treats her that way.

No.

But what about Lissa?

The snow haired woman frowned. The young girl had defended her and even offered to help her despite being strangers. After a short and silent debate with herself, Eltri quickly jogged over to town.

/

The stench of burnt flesh, sprayed blood and smoke spells out a similar scene the Shepherds had faced before. Lissa clenches her tome tightly in anger as she watches her brother fighting against a berserker. She hates seeing this. She wants the war to stop. For the fighting to stop. For the bloodshed to be stopped. She just wants it all to just stop.

Seeing an incoming brigand, Lissa quickly opened her tome and recited the necessary spell. A fireball erupts into her palm and with a steady aim she shot it straight towards her enemy. Lissa grits her teeth in frustration. It seemed like it would never end; the more brigands they killed the more of them shows up. By the time they've reached the village, nearly half of the buildings have been set on fire. At the very least, the casualties were kept at a minimum.

"I'll show you who's delicate!" Lissa jumps back in time to avoid an incoming arrow and fired back a fireball at the mage. She's even gladder now that she had asked Fredrick to train her. Now she won't be useless, now she doesn't need anyone to protect her, now she can help her brother and their knight and fight side by side. Lissa's always hated on the fact that everyone had called her delicate. They've always need to protect her because of her inability to fight.

She felt useless waiting at the sidelines. The only thing she could do was heal up injuries and even then she could only heal small scratches and bumps at best. When she enters the battlefield, sometimes she felt like she was a sitting duck. Back at the castle she wasn't able to contribute much, what with Emmeryn and Chrom handling everything. She's proud of her siblings and their accomplishments and she wishes to prove that she could pull her own weight as well. And now, she felt like she has a chance.

"Chrom!"

Lissa hurries over to her brother and switches her fire tome for her staff. The gash on his shoulder closed to a thin line. "Thank's Lissa." The princess frowns. Chrom was clearly tired from the way he was panting. The three of them had been fighting for almost half an hour and yet they were no closer to reaching the leader. The brigands had hidden themselves amongst the ruins of the burnt buildings and had ambushed the group a couple of times.

It was as if they were playing a game of hide and seek and tag combined. But this time instead of just getting caught, that person would also have a high chance of getting killed. The trio had wasted their energy roaming around the village trying to find the leader but always getting up ambushed. That wasted their energy twice as fast. If only the staff could also heal away fatigue instead of just wounds. Her frown deepens when her brother staggers to his feet.

"I think we should fall back for a minute, at least to catch your breath."

The prince shook his head. "N-no, the people-

"You can't help the people if you can't even stand Chrom!" Snapped Lissa. "Look, Fredrick said that they've evacuated to the safer parts. You're only going to get yourself killed faster if you don't take a break. Naga help me if you argue or I'll personally have Fredrick tie you up and put you in a corner!"

Chrom stared in shock at his sister's forcefulness. "Maybe you should take up on court politics Lissa." The blond haired princess snorted, throwing his hand over her shoulders and walking him over to a building beside them. "Shut up Chrom."

/

"Sir!"

Fredrick turns and addresses the villager with a small nod. "We've caught'em! We've caught one of them nasty cravens' sir!"

The knight frowns. These were simple villagers who's armed with almost nothing. So how in Naga's name were they able to capture a brigand? "Show me." Chrom had tasked Fredrick to stand guard between the brigands and the villagers in case they were attacked. At first he had been against leaving his master but Chrom had pointed out that he was capable of handling things on his own and now that Lissa had learnt how to wield a tome, they'll be able to handle most of the problems by themselves.

The man nods, his face showed nothing but proud. He runs ahead of the knight while Fredrick need only to have his horse in a gentle trot to keep up. From afar he sees a group of people jeering, and as he nears he could see that some of them were throwing rocks. Fredrick climbs down and approaches the circle and the man who alerted him walked beside of him. "Found the dastard waltzing in and looking around the place sir!" He called out in glee. "Bastards from Plegia think we folks don't know who to fight but we showed'em!"

The people made a path of Fredrick to walk through and all came to a hushed silence when he stood within the inner circle. He eyes the crouching figure covered in its cloak for a second before looking down to the ground. Rocks, glass shards and other miscellaneous littered the ground. Most likely they were some of the things that they used to pelt the intruder with. Fredrick presses his lips to a thin line and sighed quietly through his nose.

"Get up." He grabs them by the arm, nearly lifting the person up by sheer strength before walking away. The crowd comes back to life again and started with the name calling once more. A teen takes off his boots and chucks it over, hitting the person on the head. Fredrick didn't waste any more time to take Eltri away from the villagers.

"Why are you here?"

It sounded more like a statement instead of a question. Fredrick had taken her away and stopped when he was sure that they were far enough from the angry mob. He stares down at her with his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Of course he was still wary of the woman. Regardless of what lady Lissa had said. Eltri doesn't reply, and it takes Fredrick several seconds to notice that something was dripping down from the face of her hood. "Look here, crying won't help you-

"I'm not crying." She whispers.

When Fredrick looks down to the ground a second time, he realizes that the drops were crimson. She makes a move to pull down her hood and at the same time Fredrick drew his blade. When her hood falls down from her face, the knight had already pressed the edge of his blade against her neck. Their eyes briefly met before Eltri looked down. There was a gash on her temple, a busted lip, a bloody nose, a bruise that was already forming on the right side of her face-

"They've mistook me for a villain." Her voice is quiet. So quiet that Fredrick had to strain his ears to hear her.

"And you're claiming that you're not?"

Blood trails down from her nose and down to her chin. He notices that her neck is also decorated with crimson. "No. I want to help."

Fredrick scoffs. "My good lady, if I had ever let any amnesiac person come and _help _milord and milady, I'm fairly certain that they would have been dead already. Not to mention that you are wearing Plegian robes."

She flinches.

_No. No more. No more. No more. _

Beside him, his horse tenses and brays and Fredrick know why. He could feel the sudden static in the air and he was swift to react. He only needs to add pressure to his blade as he swung to have her head but the sound of clanging metal echoed into the air. Using the brief confusion to her advantage, Eltri pushes her sword with both hands to push away Fredrick's. She jumps back and lands into a crouch. Extending her hand out, a bolt of electricity came crashing down from above.

Fredrick roles out of the way and covered his face with his forearms from the dust. And by the time he had regained his bearings, Eltri had disappeared. Fredrick cursed.

He had let his prey escaped a second time. And now, both Chrom and Lissa's life are in jeopardy because of him.

**_Authors Note_**

**Well, I had recently finished the game and I gotta say I'm in love with it. Must. Get. Inigo. To. Father. My. Morgan. Hngh. I've made quite a few stupid mistakes during my first playthrough like not allowing Chrom to interact to other units besides MU and Fredrick. Color me surprise when during the end he ends up proposing. I really thought that I could decline his offer. Really I could. But when my unit suddenly replied with 'My love' I think I cried. So I reloaded my previous save file and spammed the place with reeking boxes and paired Chrom up with Sumia. **

**But enough about that. Let's talk about this. Yes. I made another story! Let's hope that this time I'm able to actually continue one instead of discontinuing my previous one out of the blue. This story is going to go off of canon from time to time but most of the story line is the same thing. As you can see, Lissa is already a sage by the start of the story. Later on, I'll have some of the characters switch classes. It's more of convenience sake than anything else so yes. Do comment, because reviews (constructive reviews especially) are always welcomed. By the way, can you spot the difference between Eltri and the other Robins from the FE:A stories? Besides their names of course.P.S. Tell me your favorite pairings, mines is FeMUXMaMu. Yes, I like protagonistxprotagonist. (It's like this for all my Pokémon games really) Oh and this is just for fun anyway.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 "**Flashes of Red**"

By the time Fredrick regroups with the rest, he was a glad to know that neither of them hadn't met Eltri again. He cursed his master's good and forgiving nature for helping out the Plegian woman. But he had no time to think about that when both Chrom and Lissa were slowly losing to fatigue. He had suggested to go out on his own but both siblings quickly shot down the idea. Then after a second thought, he scolded himself for ever thinking of abandoning them.

Fredrick weights his options. If there were more brigands hiding, then there would be a slim chance of fighting them off and protecting the villagers. And it won't be long before both Chrom and Lissa fainted from exhaustion. Leaving them alone is out of the question, and but forsaking the safety of the villagers is also not the right choice. Oh how he wishes that there was something that he could do!

"Guys look over there!"

The two males looked over to where the Princess was pointing. Just across the bridge, a group of brigands came out of the corner. They were chasing a lone figure that was running ahead of them.

"My goodness is that Eltri?! What is she doing here!" Chrom quickly sprung into action when one of the archer's arrow had hit the woman on her shoulder. Fredrick stood in front and blocked his way. "Step aside Fredrick, she needs our help!"

"Just a minute milord."

Lissa stared at him agape and Fredrick held back the urge to remind her that its unbecoming of a lady to open her mouth like that. "Are you out of your mind Fredrick?! She had just got shot by an arrow and you're telling us to wait a minute?!" Chrom shook his head, his glare clearly directed towards the knight. The prince of Ylisse shoved his hand away and dashed over to help the young woman. Lissa followed her brother in suit, quickly leaving the knight behind. Just as the group of brigands neared the young woman, a powerful bolt of electricity came crashing down. They all but dropped dead while Eltri slowly stood up and swayed in place.

"_I want to help_." Her voice echoes in his mind and Fredrick shook his head. No. She's lying. She is but a witch out to get the Ylisseans. And Fredrick had sworn to himself that he would protect the Royal Blood from any harm till his dying breath, amnesiac Plegian women be damned!

Chrom was quick to catch the woman before she had fallen to the ground. It was then that her hood and slipped down- Chrom's eyes widened at the sights of the cuts and bruises on her face. "W-what happened?" Her eyes met his and the snow haired woman immediately slapped his hand away and staggered back.

"Eltri!"

Said woman quickly flipped her hood back up and leaned her back against the wall to steady herself. But the effort of standing was already too draining and she instantly slid down to a slump. Lissa quickly took out her staff and went to work on the woman's shoulder. "Did you run all the way over here? Gods that's just reckless!" Admonished Lissa.

"I- No… I just… Wanted to help…"

Lissa clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Running yourself close to exhaustion isn't going to do anyone good."

"But… I can help. I can… I can… Ugh-!" Eltri lurched forward and pushed the young sage away. She coughed, hacked and wheezed and blood splattered to where Lissa had previously been. Both siblings shared a look over Eltri's head while the young woman tried to regain her breath. "Eltri," Lissa started,

"N-no! You have to listen first please! I- I know where the rest of the brigands are hiding, t-there isn't much left… We can, we can win this…"

"Please…" Eltri murmured. "Please trust me."

Was it wrong to hope that they would trust her? Was it wrong to think that there would be someone out there that would accept her?

Chrom eyes the pattern sewn on the hem of the snow haired woman's robe. He glances at the dead bodies that had been electrocuted to death. He watches a nearby building that was still on fire continue to burn down the structure of the building. He looks down at the mark on his shoulders and the sword that was fastened to his side. He knows of Ylisse's history with Plegia. He knows all too well of their bloody history with each other.

His people had suffered. But of course, he wasn't blind to other things. He knows that Plegia suffered as well. He wishes that both countries would stop their suffering, their discrimination against each other. He knows it's a child's dream but maybe, just maybe, if someone from both side is willing to reach out and become a bridge for the two countries then… Chrom looks down to the young woman once more before kneeling beside her. He stares back into a pair of light gray orbs who stared at him back with mixed emotions. "Yes." He breathes. "I trust you."

Even from the shadow of her hood, Chrom caught Eltri smiling back at him.

/

"I will show you my resolve. I want to help them. I'm not… I'm not a villain."

Fredrick barely even spared a glance. "Your order's milord?"

Chrom could only sigh in defeat. Sometimes, Fredrick's stubbornness was far too much. "Eltri would be the one giving the commands here Fredrick, not I. You should ask her for orders."

Still, Fredrick wouldn't budge. "I take no one else's shoulders but from you milord. I apologize but-

"If that's the case," Piped Lissa, "then Chrom orders you to follow Eltri's instruction. Can you go against that?"

Fredrick gave no answer and the blonde sage grins in victory. "Go ahead Eltri." She nudges the robed Plegian and Chrom sees the hood moving in a nod. The Plegian explained her plan and the group quickly went to work. She had paired the siblings together while she uses herself and Fredrick as bait to draw out the entire brigands. Despite the lack of communications, Fredrick was mildly surprised that the snow haired woman was –_at the very least- _able to keep up with him.

He notices that her sword work still needs a lot of improvement; arms too wide, knees too close together- there were so many flaws in just her stance! He's surprised that she hasn't been mauled to death by the brigands. But then again, judging from the way they attack, it's clear to the knight that they didn't have any formal training either.

A myrmidon had suddenly sprung into the fray and manages to disarm the woman. Fredrick notices this of course, but pretends to be busy engaging with his opponent. He waits for her to call for help, he waits for the scream, maybe for the sound of thunder crackling- striking down her opponents. His sword lodges deep into the mage's guts and Fredrick pulls it out a second later. He's still waiting while he evades and then cuts down his next opponent.

He's still waiting while his horse stomps down on the chest of a brigand. He's still waiting while he deflects an arrow and charges over to the archer to finish him off.

Why was there no scream?

Why was there no sound?

The thought of her lying dead behind him almost made him guilty. Almost. A little bit. But not quite the whole thing. For the most part it made him felt glad.

"Watch out!"

Watch out? Watch out for what? Was that her? Did that woman-

All thoughts were cut off when a powerful force knocks him off of his horse. His head bangs against the bloodied pavement and the world becomes a blur. He feels the ground vibrating with every footsteps around him, his ears ring and he feels as if his head is going to split. He curses his carelessness as he tries to get his bearings. But something forces him down.

"Well, well, well, looks like the big and mighty knight has fallen hasn't he?" That was probably another brigand. "Not so high and mighty now are you?" He hisses. But Fredrick pays no mind to his insults. His hands reaches out for his weapon while the man was busy pressing his foot against the side of his face. Fredrick laughs inwardly; really this man must've been daft to not notice him reaching for his weapon. "Pick a god and pray." His silver lance went through the leather armor and pierces his chest. Blood sprays on to the Fredrick's neck and he finally gains the energy to stand.

A hand enters his line of vision and he chose to ignore it. He stands on his own and flicks his lance away from the corpse.

"Chrom and Lissa just finished off their leader. We should go."

Fredrick spares the snow haired woman a quick glance before walking over to the pointed direction. He sees blood on most of her person and looking from how much blood stain there was on her shoulders, he could only assume that she had injured it again.

Eltri quietly followed the man and was secretly glad that Fredrick had chosen to walk instead of riding. She smiles a little bit thinking of the small kindness that she was receiving from the wary knight. She had seen him glancing at her and she knew the reason why he was walking slower than on purpose. Despite the fact that Fredrick was ahead of her, he matches the pace of her footsteps so that she wouldn't be too far behind.

/

"Wow, using swords and wielding tomes! Not to mention that you're such a strategist! What can't you do?! I'm so glad that Chrom recruited you to be our strategist! I can finally have another girl to talk with!"

Behind the safety of her hood, Eltri smiles. "Thank you." She hums. The group is currently sitting across a fire. After dispatching all of the brigands, Fredrick had quietly spoken to Chrom about something. Before they went over to talk with the villagers, Chrom had switched his cloak with Eltri while Fredrick stood close –which actually surprised Lissa- to her.

The princess noticed that her brother was using the same polite smile that he uses when dealing with court politics. The ones where he's harped by people who think that they can do a better job than him –when in reality they don't- The polite and tense kind of smile. They then left town quickly after that. On the road, Chrom had offered her the position which –after which Lissa was convinced that it was because of her persuasive speech though Chrom begged to differ that Lissa constantly saying _please_ actually affected Eltri's opinion- she agreed on.

"You should eat your meal as well; it won't do you good to sleep on an empty stomach."

The sage pouted and eyed the bear meat with distaste. "Ugh, you can have my share Eltri. I'm not going to... To eat this _thing_."

The snow haired woman laughed and lightly patted the sage's thigh. "Bear meat isn't so bad Lissa. If you close your eyes and forget it's bear meat it kind of taste like-

"Chicken?" Lissa made a face. "Yeah, now you're starting to sound like Chrom. Well hate to rain on your party but I've tried and that doesn't work. Even a boot would taste better than this!"

The men came back soon later and while Lissa passed on the thought of taking a bath, Lissa offers her cloak and towel which Eltri took before heading out to the lake. When she came back, she finds the rest asleep by the fire save for Chrom. Chrom pats on the ground beside him and the snow haired woman quietly complied.

"Listen, about what happened…"

"It's alright. Their action is… Understandable considering their opinions on Plegia."

Chrom lays his forearms on his thighs and leaned towards the fire. "I doubt pelting an innocent person with various miscellaneous things as understandable."

The snow haired woman hummed. She doesn't really understand it herself but she wasn't particularly angry for what happened. Maybe she's been through the same scenario a more than enough times prior to her amnesia. That seemed to make sense. The blue haired man sighed dejectedly before shooting her a small tired smile. "May I ask a question?"

The hood nods. "If it is within my power and knowledge I will."

Chrom sees the snow haired woman caressing the mark of Grima with her other hand and a wave of guilt nearly drowned him. Yes, he had thought of building a bridge to better Ylisse and Plegia. But he had forgotten that despite the fact that his sister had healed his people, there is still a deep rooted hate for the followers of Grima. Fredrick had told him that she hadn't fought back and Chrom himself had seen with his very own eyes what the snow haired woman was capable of.

"What do you remember besides your name?"

"Hmm, not much. Just general things I suppose. I think my amnesia only extends to personal things- I mean, I can recall things I've read which are mostly tactic books…"

"Have you gotten your injuries looked at yet?"

The hood shook its head. "There's no need for that. My wounds aren't that serious."

Chrom frowns. "All wounds should be given a proper look at even if it isn't serious. You may never know that the injury is far grave than you would have expected. Here let me," As Chrom reaches out for the snow haired woman it triggered something in the back of her mind.

_Chrom reaches his hand out and is in tears. Behind him, Lissa is running towards his direction crying as well. Why are they crying? _

_A hand is reaching out as well but stops just before it reaches Chrom's. Lissa screams and_-

His hand was slapped away almost immediately. Eltri abruptly stood up and dashed towards the woods. Chrom stares in surprise before blinking back to reality and chases after the snow haired woman.

Eltri covers her ears in an attempt to drown out the voices. But there were just so many of them! Who are they? Does she know them? Do these memories belong to her?

"Eltri! Eltri stop!"

There's thundering footsteps behind her and an image of being chased by numerous soldiers flashes before her eyes.

"_Come back here you little-_

"No! Stay away!"

She doesn't see the roots and trips, sending her tumbling down. Chrom picks up his pace and almost caught her before the woman scrambled up and ran again. But the instant Chrom reaches out and touches her hand; an intense surge of electricity burnt his hand. He shouts her name once more and the snow haired woman out of her trance and stays rooted to the ground.

She pauses and stares down at her free hand which was crackling with electricity. The mark of Grima glowed eerily and three pairs of eyes stared back at her. The mark of the fell dragon seemed to have smiled. Eltri seems a hooded figure from a far with striking resemblance to her. The only difference was the fact that her eyes were blood red and her smile looked more as if her mouth was cut into slits.

_Just a little bit more and you would have killed him. Shame he hasn't dropped dead yet don't you think?_

It's her own voice that she's hearing but it wasn't her talking. It was the other her. The one with blood red eyes and a slit mouth. And that was the last thing that she saw before the whole world was swallowed into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3 "The Other Side of The Mirror"_**

Even though it's only in the early afternoons, the prince of Ylisse had never felt so tired –_and _bored- with just sitting down and talking. Chrom sighs through his nose as the council meeting finally ended. He waits till the rest of the members had left the room before he followed suit. Fredrick, as usual walked behind him. "She still hasn't woken up Milord. The healers had said that it would take a couple of days at best before she will wake up." That was the first news that Fredrick had been delivering for the past 3 days after Eltri had passed out.

There had been an unfortunate turn of events when Risens had dropped out from the sky and sprung out from the ground. Chrom didn't waste any more time and threw the unconscious girl over his shoulders before going to hide behind a nearby tree. He knows that fighting off the creatures would be almost impossible while he needs to watch over his newly recruited tactician.

Luckily both Fredrick and Lissa came to his aid before things went too out of control and even luckier when Sully had finally caught up with the rest while bringing along a new recruit; Virion. A masked figure even helped them defeat the unholy creatures, referring himself as Marth, before disappearing into the woods.

When Fredrick had questioned him about his hand and Eltri, Chrom had lied and told him it was because of a mage risen had attacked and taken Eltri out cold. In his story, Chrom had seen the attack intended for their tactician and pushed her out of the way. But it was his hand that received the brunt of the attack. Unfortunately, he had pushed her too hard and caused her to hit her head against a tree trunk thus knocking her out cold.

Chrom thanked Naga for that sudden burst of creativity which Naga knows he lacked. Apparantly the lie was good enough that even his sister, the one who somehow manages to guilt trip him into confessing, believed him. His hand however remains burnt and charred despite having the best healers in all of Ylisse. The healers could do no more but to subscribe him ointments to treat his wounds. So for the momentary being, Chrom has had his entire hand wrapped up.

The prince hangs his head and sighs in defeat. "I know, I know it's just I feel guilty for what I've done. I mean, I was just reaching- I mean uh yeah, reaching out for her and push her out of the way..." Chrom prays hard that Fredrick did not catch the little slip. "But I ended up knocking her out. What a saviour I am."

Fredrick shook his head. "It doesn't matter milord. You have saved her life from a greater danger than a concussion. According to your stories, she was on the line of fire. It would have hit her in the chest and she would have died. You need not burden yourself with the past milord. What's important is that both of you are alive."

"Huh, it seems that you've accepted our tactitian."

Fredrick merely offered a polite smile. "She has proven her worth yes. And as for now I am willing to accept her presence. However it does not mean I trust her fully."

Chrom smiles and pats the knight on his armored shoulder. "That's alright my friend. That is enough for me as well."

It wasn't long after that that both men were able to hear the voice of their young princess. Chrom smiles over at his sister from the distance while Lissa skipped over to the two male dragging a person behind. Fredrick gives her a greeting which she returned with a smile that rivaled the sun. "There's someone who wants to see you Chrom! And hello to you too Fredrick!"

"Who-

"Hello Chrom."

Lissa steps aside to reveal the young woman behind her. Instead of the Plegian robe, the snow haired woman was dressed in a bright blue dress with Ylissean embroidery stitched on the hem and sleeves. Any thoughts of her being somewhere near Lissa's age disappeared and Chrom finds himself staring at her bosoms. Again. Though of course the poor boy was still too shocked to have realized what he was doing. Er- seeing.

Luckily for the girl, she had her head down and was busy grasping her hands together in an attempt of a formal greeting. She quite liked the dress Lissa had given her because she felt that it was similar to her robe. It was light and easy to move around and it smelled quite nice. Hours before, right after she had woken up, the snow haired woman had found Lissa waiting by the side of her bed.

Eltri couldn't tell the exact object that the blonde sage was trying to knit but in her personal opinion it looked more like a random blob of blue. She was bathed and later on dressed before being dragged away by the excited female. All the while, she was being briefed by said female about what had happened and the whatnots. Eltri found the part where Lissa and Chrom are heirs to the throne to be quite unbelievable. That is of course till she reminds herself that she _is _in a castle.

…

That and the fact that everyone seems to listen to whatever Lissa asks them to do.

The snow haired woman continues to mull her thoughts, oblivious to the stare. But despite the fact that Lissa didn't talk with any caution to her, it doesn't mean that the rest of the Ylissean court would do the same. She hears them whispering amongst each other of the Plegian woman. Some were talking out of pure curiosity, some of hatred and some of suspicions.

She could feel their pointed stares and jabbing remarks on her back as she walked –dragged- by the blond haired princess. Each time she makes eye contact with someone else, the other person would either look away or blatantly stared back. –Some even sneered and mouthed something to her but Lissa had dragged her off before she could finish reading their lips-

She looks up to the Ylissean prince and offered him a small smile before nodding towards Fredrick.

Chrom stared harder while Lissa continued on. "Well, I'mma go and take her to meet the Shephards so we'll see you both later!"

Just as Lissa was about to bring –nay, drag actually- Eltri off. Chrom's hands moved on their own and latched on to his sister's shoulder. Everyone turns to stare at the blue haired prince; though Eltri just glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and pressed her lips to a thin line as if expecting that this was coming all along.

"May I steal her away for a bit. There's something that I need to talk to her about."

Lissa shrugs and tilts her head to the direction of the snow haired woman. "As long as she's fine with it." Chrom had to bit back a sarcastic comment about how she had been the one dragging the poor woman all around without asking if she's alright with it in the first place. Eltri nods and lightly removed Lissa grip on her hand. Chrom turns to Fredrick, "I'll be back in a minute." Before motioning over to Eltri to follow.

Watching as the pair walked away, a thought popped into Lissa's mind. "Why couldn't he say it here and now?"

/

"He looks very happy."

"Nyahahaha, I guess all that hard work didn't go for nothing huh?" The newly appointed General beams at his fellow colleagues and they room raises up they're glass. Robin chuckled when Vasto lost to Mustafa in a drinking contest and passes out flat out drunk while the older general wasn't even fazed. He smiles and downs his mug before acknowledging the mage that had took a seat in front of him.

The pub was full of cheers and laughter with the occasional curses and a drunkards raving. Normally Robin wouldn't be in such a loud environment but he doesn't mind this one. The dark mage giggled and offered him a peach but the white haired swordsman politely declined. "Vasto was just bragging to me about the new cloak his mother made for him for his promotion."

"Was that before or after he passed out drunk?"

"Before. Now, all he's mumbling about is pretty girls, money and killing off the entire Ylissean army with a log. I think he's completely lost it." Henry giggled.

Robin smirks and sets down his mug. "He's going to get a really bad hangover then."

"Don't worry!" Chirped the dark mage. "He's one of the big shots now! There's no else that can get mad at him for getting a hangover~ Well unless of course its King Gangrel but it's not like he actually cares about us right? Teehee!"

Robin presses his lips to a thin line and eyes the leftover liquid at the bottom of his mug. He's not much of a drinker really, but he won't turn down a free booze or meal. Just as Henry was about to eat his peach, the swordsman easily stole it and took a bite of the pink fruit. Henry pauses when he realize he's holding nothing but air and pouts at the swordsman.

"You said you didn't want any!"

"I changed my mind." He shrugs.

"I heard that the mad king gave you a mission. What's it about this time? Enslave a whole town? Track down and kill a resistance? Or is it just your usual boring reconnaissance mission?" Henry waved his hand to get the attention of a passing bar maid. She smiles at both and took note of their orders. Robin met her gaze and she immediately flushed and scurried away.

He paid her no mind and continued to eat the peach. "The usual. They want me to find a Grimleal."

"Whaaa? Everyone in Plegia is a Grimleal!" Then after thinking back of the small resistance he and Robin had just destroyed- nay slaughtered, he adds "Well mostly everyone."

"I'm only given a vague describtion as well. Female with the mark of Grima on her person. Kill anyone that gets in the way and bring her back alive."

"Well, at least you know she has the mark of Grima right?"

"Yes but," Robin sighed through his nose. "where exactly is it on? She might be hiding it or it might even be some place less… Revealed."

"But you've slept with many other girls before, why are you so embarrassed?"

"Who the hell told you that?" He glares hard at the dark mage. "Well, there's actually a lot of rumors about you. Some are just plain funny ya know? A lot of the soldiers tell these kinds of stories amongst themselves. After all, you're kind of like the idolized soldier here. Nyahaha!"

Robin could feel his left eye ticking in annoyance. "And they've told you?"

"Yup!"

"And you never bothered correcting them of this… False rumors?"

"Nope!"

Robin held back the urge to strangle Henry whereas Henry laughed out loud. "Wow Robin, you looked like you're going to murder someone!"

The white haired swordsman slapped a hand to his face and sighed. Sometimes he wonders why he bothers to befriend the dark mage. Sometimes. Henry had proven himself trustworthy and capable and Robin couldn't deny that he's one of Plegia's best warriors (_mage if you want to split hairs_) in the whole country. If there's someone Robin would want to watch his back, it's definitely going to be someone like Henry.

**_Authors Note_**

**_Yes thank you for all your comments! I appreciate them! :D Anywhoo, in Henry's and Ricken's support conversation, Henry tells Ricken about the soldiers of Plegia. I like what Henry said during the conversation. "I know that they're not just faceless blurs with an axe. They all of families and friends to take care of too." That by far is one of my favorite quotes right there. Damn Henry, we killed off your friends… Way to make me feel bad over leveling up… _**

**_So now the stories are going to shift between Eltri and Robin till the two eventually meet. Note that this story is not going to be following the cannon story line but I do hope that you're still going to enjoy them~_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4 "Unexpected Encounters"_**

"I… Would like to apologize for what happened. I… Didn't mean to hurt you." Chrom notices that the young woman kept on wringing her hands. Her eyes were downcast and her brows were furrowed slightly. "I know." Chrom answered.

Eltri chewed her lower lip. "I'm… Very sorry."

The young prince shook his head. "As I have said. I know it was an accident so there is no need to apologize. My hand is healing just fine. My concern is what triggered it. Do you remember what it was?"

Yes. Of course she remembers. In fact it was the very thing that she had been dreaming of this whole time. Eltri dreads the time the sun would set because that's when the same red eyes would stare back at her in her dreams. There were faceless voices calling out to her, screaming, laughing, crying- they were all too jumbled up till she couldn't discern what they were saying.

The snow haired woman sighed and shook her head. "I'm not… Quite sure, but I think they were… My memories. It… It wasn't pleasant."

"I'm sorry."

She whips her head, eyebrows furrowed even more. "What… whatever for?"

Chrom grimaced. "If… If I hadn't forced you, it wouldn't have turned out like this. I apologize for being so frank with you."

"You… were worried. You did not know." Chrom was surprised when the young woman reached for his uninjured hand and gave it a light squeeze. He finds himself saying those words before he even realized it. "I'm here for you." Both blinked and Chrom felt heat rising up to his ears. Coughing lightly, he amends "Don't forget that you're one of us now. The Shepherds will be with you as well." Eltri blushed and ducked her head down. And Chrom would have missed it because her voice was so quite but he caught what she had said.

"Thank you."

/

The snow haired woman was finally introduced to the rest of the Shepherds. They were quite a lively bunch to be honest what with their own antics and whatnot. But the female tactician soon finds herself enjoying their company and they her. However, it is with Stahl and Kellam that she finds herself most comfortable with. During their free time, the two soldiers would often be found chatting with the tactician. Of course rumors have sprouted amongst the ranks of the Shepherds and those in the castle.

But they all remained only as rumors because during training Eltri didn't favor anyone. Two months after she was recruited and everyone agreed that Ylisse's army had increased in productivity and experience. She was fair to all and even went to train with each member individually even for a common soldier. Sully, Kellam and Stahl were promoted to Great Knights and are getting used to switching between three weapons. Virion is now a Myrmidon, Vaike a Hero, Ricken a Dark Knight, Sumia and Maribelle as Dark Fliers and Miriel as a Valkyrie.

Eltri decided to take a gamble and refrained from having Fredrick change classes at the moment. She's quite confident of the current army's strength to handle it on their own without the knight's help. Though it had been quite disturbing news to receive, they had discovered that several merchants have sold items that could summon the _Risen. _Initially Chrom and Fredrick was against in using it but the snow haired woman managed to persuade them both.

Since then every Monday and Friday the army would head out to a secluded area, away from any civilization, and practice against the Risen. Brigands were kept at bay and there had been a significant decrease of attacks and raids reported. It had been on the third month that Chrom had announced that they would be going to Regna Ferox.

Despite the rocky start, the Feroxi khan had accepted them with open arms and as well as the Ylissean's request for military aid. As long as they win the tournament that allows Flavia to be the reigning khan that is.

Eltri tugs on her coat once more and blew to her hands in an attempt to warm them up. There was a nudge to her side and the snow haired tactician smiled and took the steaming mug. "Thank you." Kellam nodded back and took a sip of his own. "Where did Stahl go?" The Ylissean had erected camp in the woods in the borders between Ylisse and Ferox and had been staying there for a week. The two of them were sitting within the barracks of their camp, talking and chatting up everything and nothing, just like what they always do after their training sessions.

"He was here with me before, but Sully came in and dragged him away." Kellam blew the steam of his mug in thought. "Said something about the bull beating the panther… Or something like that. Oh that reminds me, I told my brother that we were going Ferox a week back. I got their reply this morning. They said that she's feeling much better now because of the potion and as a thank you gift they got you and Stahl something."

Kellam had mentioned before that his sister-in-law was pregnant and hasn't been feeling well for the past week. Eltri had asked the knight for the symptoms and searched for a remedy before hunting down the ingredients with Stahl. Kellam was quite touched at the gesture and so were his brother and sister-in-law. Eltri smiled lightly, "They didn't have to do that. Stahl and I did it for a friend, there's no need for rewards."

Kellam shook his head. "Nonsense! Besides, I'm pretty sure that you're going to need this." The snow haired woman tilted her head in confusion and silently urged him to continue. Kellam chuckles and scratched the back of his head. "They actually sent me another letter asking if there was anything they could do to thank you and uh- I noticed how you didn't quite like the cold weather here."

His friend hums and reaches over the table to pat his hand. "Thank you. Do send my regards to your brother and sister-in-law on your next letter. I appreciate it." Kellam smiled. "Will do. Oh drat, I left them in my tent! Would it be alright if I dropped them off later on?"

Eltri nods. "No rush my friend."

"Say, I'm surprised you aren't with Chrom right now." At this the tactician blinked in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

"W-Well, you're usually near Chrom even on your days off. To be honest I think this is the longest time we've actually ever chat during the day." Kellam stammered. "Not that I'm implying anything!" He added quickly. Eltri chuckles at his embarrassment. "I know. You are not the type to follow meager gossip. But yes, you are right this is the longest time we have talked in the day. My job does require me to be with Chrom almost constantly even on my supposed day off. But he said I could have a day off today."

"Lady tactician!" A soldier burst through the tent flap and instantly all eyes were drawn to the red face soldier. "P-Plegian's! They've raided the camp!" The soldier gave a brief explanation about what happened before collapsing. A wide crimson stain spreads on the back of his armor.

"Kellam, get him to medic tent. I'm sure that there's at least a healer there. Guard that tent. I'll send anyone else nearby to help you." The knight bends over and slings the unconscious man's arm over his shoulder. "Where are you going now?" Eltri presses her lips to a thin line the gears on her mind going a mile a minute. "I'll try to round up members of the camp. Then I'll see from there. Let's go."

The tactician pulls her hood up and leaves the barracks. From the soldier's report, the Plegians were only 20 in numbers and stormed to the left side of the camp. However there is a chance that there would be more in hiding. How could they all be so careless? Was it her fault to have been so lax? The soldiers? No. She had been careful. Fredrick had been even more careful now that Chrom wasn't around.

She unsheathes her sword and was able to catch one of the intruder's off guard and dispatches him quickly. She thinks hard as she draws attention of two more from an injured soldier. Most of the Shepherds tents are on the right. And so was the medical tent. The armory was on the left side yes so does that mean that it was what they were targeting?

Eltri narrowly avoided an axe beheading her head. But a painful sting on her right shoulder tells her that she didn't quite escape the arrow. Was this just a distraction? Did these brigands have accidentally walked up on their camp? Stahl and Sully came to help out and informed her that Miriel and Virion had left for the medic tent. She needs to find the leader and end this before it escalates further but where would he be?

She sees a retreating figure going deep into the forest and against all logic, followed him.

Halfway she saw him slowing down and realizes that there's another set of footsteps ahead. Eltri quickly ducked and hid behind a tree a few feet away. The Plegian greets the newcomer. "Sir! We- ugh!" He groans and there's a thud. "For you to not realize that someone had been following you. You do not deserve to be in my division. Come out intruder."

She swallows hard, gripped the hilt of her sword and steps out of her hiding. Gray orbs darted down to look at the crumpled form on the ground and the growing pool of blood around it. The man in front of her stares hard when he notices the etchings of her coat. He too wore the robes of Plegia and like her, he had his hood up. The only thing that she could see was the lower half of his face.

"State your rank soldier." The way he talks and brings himself oozes with authority. Yes, he seems to be the leader of the brigands. Eltri licks her lips. It's dry and cracked and she tastes iron. "I am not with you." His face remains impassive. "Yes. A fellow soldier wouldn't sneak up on one of their own. You wear Plegian robes. To say that you are not with us is to admit that you are a traitor."

"I was… Never with Plegia."

"Regardless of what you say you are still our enemy." He flicks his sword and draw to a stance. "Now die."

His strikes were lightning quick, swift and yet deliver such heavy blows. Eltri struggles to bring her sword up in time. Whenever their baldes clash it momentarily numbs her whole arms for a few seconds. The snow was hard to maneuver in, the cold wind makes her movements sluggish and the pain on her injured shoulder only makes it worse. She finds herself becoming slower and slower and receives shallow cuts all over until a swift kick to her abdomen sends her flying back.

Eltri had never been more aware of her surroundings then now. She feels the throbbing pain of her injured shoulder, the cold slap of perpetual winter winds on her exposed flesh, the rush of blood in her ears, the frantic beating of her heart. Blood is staining the sleeves of her robe and on to the white ground. She could still hear the fighting from camp, distant sounds of metal clashing against each other mixed with the shouts and yelling of the participants.

Eltri skids across the snow and lands on a crouch before falling to her knees. Her that had fallen from her hand lay discarded to the side. She's tired. Extremely tired. The snow haired woman tries to regain her breath Unlike her opponent who didn't even look like he had broken a sweat. His footsteps crunches in the snow and stops right in front of her. "For the decent fight that you put up I shall allow you to say your final words so speak."

She finally looks up once she had regained her breath and in the process allows the hood to slide down. "I… will… not die here." She whispers. He sees the spark of defiance in her eyes. So strong and resolute. Her swordplay isn't good nor is it bad, but he sees how great she would become if she were to polish her talents. After all, the proof of it is that she's somehow still in one piece despite facing off against Plegia's best swordsman.

"That is not for you to decide." He raises his sword and strikes.

_ What a shame that she's the enemy_.

He catches the body and kneels down to readjust his grip. He pushes her chin up and studies her face. "No matter what you say, you resemble more of the people that made your robe instead of the company that you are with." Robin mulls his thoughts for a while. Rushing footsteps could be heard and the swordsman knows that he needs to make his decision now.

_No matter how you look at it. It's still a win-win situation. _

Without another word, he picks the unconscious body and walks back to regroup.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5 Darkness in All _**

_The Shepherds are in thrown into disarray. Their chief tactician is missing and there are rumors that the snow haired woman had abandoned them and rejoined the Plegians. It spread like wild fire in just a week's time. Chrom was shocked and angry at shallow accusation; Lissa cried and Maribelle made it a point to snap at anyone who said. Sully challenges anyone to a dual who dares to breathe a word about it in her presence. None spoke about it afterwards, in fear that they might just lose a limb or two. But of course, the whispers never died down._

_Stahl and Kellam were the most upset about it. Far more than Chrom was but the two knew that the tactician would not do such a thing. They reasoned with Fredrick, who had initially agreed to the idea, that she wouldn't do so and any other person who thought so. They both volunteered to be part of the search party while Chrom and several others joined the tournament. It was then that they discovered a Plegian corpse found further into the woods along with signs of a duel. _

_The bloodstains were to be believed of Eltri's and there is a chance that she might have been taken away by force instead. The tournament lasted for a week and each day the Shepherds were anxiously waiting for the search party to find their tactician. By the end of it, they had ultimately won the tournament gained a new ally and Khan Flavia was named regent of Regna Ferox. But there were still no signs of her. _

_/_

When Eltri woke up, the first thing that she noticed was that the temperature was back to normal. The lighting provided came in the form of torches placed away from where she was. Though it was more of a dying flicker than a source of light it was enough to show her where she was. She blinks away the tiredness and rubs her eyes- only to realize that her limbs have been tied securely behind her back. Panic erupted in her chest as she recalled back the incident that lead to her capture.

_Right… I was following back a soldier and… And then I met that man- We fought, I lost and then… _

"I wouldn't move around so much if I were you."

The sound of a new voice caused her to turn and jerked back from shock. She felt her back meet with the wall and a searing jolt of pain from her injured shoulder nearly caused her to scream. But as soon as air was released, something roughly presses itself against her mouth cutting it short. Eltri felt her breath hitch in her throat as the new weight was practically pushing her back against the wall. The restraints on her hands not only dig on her skin but also strained her entire arms. Tears of pain clouded her eyes and she could only hope that she wouldn't cry in front of this stranger.

"Don't scream." He hisses. "You don't want to want to attract their attention. Nod if you understand." The owner of the voice was close. So close that the tactician could smell a faint scent of sweets and low enough that she had to strain her ears to make what he was saying. She nods slowly and the pressure on her mouth was removed. "Who… are you?"

She feels the figure stop just in front of her. She could barely make out the silhouette of his figure but manages to catch his eyes. The man watches her, studying her face for a while. Maybe it was because no one had ever watched her so close and that she had always been the one watching and scrutinizing others. Embarrased, Eltri felt her face heat up and looked anywhere but straight on.

"S-stop staring… It's rude." She mumbles. The tactician shrank even more to the wall when her fellow prisoner chuckled. "Sorry," he murmurs and finally draws back. Eltri let out a big sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding. "Gaius. And yours?"

"Eltri. Do you know where we are?" Eltri made sure that her voice was just above a whisper. She didn't want to repeat the whole incident again if possible.

Gauis sat in front of her and the snow haired woman noticed that unlike the way she was tied up, Gauis had his arms tied on the front. "We're in the Plegian's dungeon. Not a pretty nice place to spend your final days if you ask me. Prisoners here are pretty much human guinea pigs for the mages to try their new hexes. I've seen them do it to one of the lads here- not very pretty I tell you." Gaius let out an involuntary shiver and sighed.

The snow haired woman thought hard and Gauis clicked his tongue. "If you have any thoughts of breaking out of here wipe them all out now." Eltri opened her mouth to argue but Gauis beat her to it. "The bars here are hexed." He continued, "Trying to break out from them would shock you to death. Don't try anything stupid."

Alright so maybe pick locking was out of the idea. Busting out of prisoner by exploding the bars would draw too much attention and things would go downhill from there. Eltri scanned the prison cell for any possible escape route.

"There's no exit route in this cramp cell. The only way in and out is through the cells."

…

"Are you a mind reader?" The words came out before she realized it and her cheeks quickly heat up once more. The corners of Gauis lips quirked up and his eyes glinted in amusement. "No, you're just easy to read."

"But it's practically dark…" She weakly countered and Gauis merely shrugs.

/

The meals were handed out later on and even then it was just two pieces of dry bread rolls and soup that was more like water mixed with leftover garbage. Meal time was one of the only times when everyone has their handcuffs removed and when they're about to be reattached, the soldiers tied her hands forward instead of back and released the ones on her feet. The first time she drank the soup, Eltri felt her throat was on fire, choked on her soup, and spat it out. Gauis had snickered at her misfortune.

When night time finally fell, the cell floor was cold and it was then that Eltri realized that she was missing her coat and boots. The snow haired woman shuffles around to get comfortable in her awkward position but it proved worthless as she shivered when the cold wind drafted into the cells. The content of the cell was nothing more than its two prisoners. There was no bed, no cloth, no nothing save for the barred window that showed the endless Plegian desert.

Eltri sighed and slumped against the wall.

"Gauis." There is no immediate response but a few seconds later she hears clothes being rustled and a grunt was sounded.

"How long have you been here?"

From the torch light and from the light that came from the window, Eltri could make out his silhouette sitting across her. "Now why would you want to know that?" Came the reply.

"Small talk." She counters and Gauis next reply sounded amused. "Then we should talk about happier things instead of this."

The word happy made the tactician think. Was she happy with Chrom's company? Yes, of course. She has good friends within the Shepherds; namely Stahl and Kellam. Those people treated her with respect and she them. But does having respect means that you're happy with the other party? She is rumored to be Plegian. Plegians and Ylisseans do not mix well. Even after having proving herself, people still say that it was all just an act.

She isn't deaf. She could hear the soldiers, the laymen whispering and gossiping amongst each other of her true nature. Her disappearance would surely fuel up the already heated gossip. Would the Shepherds think that way too? She knows they will try to find her but until how long would the search party last? Anxiety filled her chest. Would they leave her behind?

"I…" She starts. Gauis notices how his cellmate's voice seemed to crack but he remains quiet and waits for her to finish. "I'm afraid all that I know of is on war. That… does not count as happy thoughts doesn't it?"

"Oh- S-sorry about that… I didn't- well now this is… Quite awkward."

His embarrassment eased a small part of her thoughts and the young woman finds herself smiling slightly. "You can make it up by telling me about your happy days." She says softly.

"Hmm. Well if you insist…"

And so the two of them talked till one of them fell asleep. And that ended up being Gauis himself despite his own attempts to stay awake. Eltri looks out to the window and estimates that it's some during the wee hours of morning. The prison was silent save for some snoring here and there. The tactician glances at the sleeping form across and hum in thought.

Gauis himself was a different character all together. He wasn't like anyone from the Shepherds. He was calm and collected and he was willing to tell her the things she needed to look out for instead of just having her learn the hard way. Which of course lead the snow haired woman to believe that the man had been here for some time.

Her mind recalled back to her earlier thoughts about the Shepherds. Eltri knows that she has to break out but that's easier said than done. A sudden thought came up to mind.

_Wait… Why did that general took me as prisoner instead of finishing me off? Does he intend to use me as a bargaining tool? _

Footsteps could be heard from outside and thinking that it was one of the guards, Eltri quickly feigned sleep. The footsteps grew louder and to her confusion, it stopped right in front of her cell.

"Hey there!" He whispered-shouted. Across her, she could hear Gauis stirring in his sleep and Eltri could only wonder what this man wanted. "Hey!" He tries again, "Lookie here missy, if you don't answer me I'm going to hex that guy over there and his guts will explode! Ooh I think that'll be a pretty sight to see teeheee!"

Cautiously Eltri opened her eyes and looked at the direction of her cell door. The dim light was barely enough for her to make out the silhouette of the person but she definitely knows that it's male from the voice. "I'm gonna count to three and if you don't answer me I'll do it~ Oneee, twoooo, thr-"

"Stop."

The snow haired woman quietly stood up and walked tentatively to the front. She stands a foot away from the bars, far enough so that if he tries to reach in he wouldn't be able to touch her. "What are you doing here?"

"Aw, but I haven't even introduce myself!" The male whined. "My names Henry by the way. You don't have to tell me yours though, I know who you are. You're the Ylissean tactician am I right?"

Eltri frowned. "How did you-

"Robin had been watching your party for quite some time even before you got captured. He knows who you are. I came down here to offer you a deal."

Robin. That must be the general's name. Pain erupted at the back of her mind and Eltri stumbled forward; grasping at the bars of her cell.

"No." She breathed.

Henry snorted and the tactician froze in place when Gauis moved in his sleep again. "Leave me be. I… Wish not to take part of any Plegian plans."

The throb begin to ache more painfully now. But before she lost consciousness once more, a scene flashes in front of her eyes. It's Chrom, undoubtedly Chrom. He smiles and reaches out to place his hand to someone's shoulder.

"_You'll always be one of us Robin. No destiny can change that." _

It's Robin's shoulder. Robin smiles and clearly it is the same Robin as the one that abducted her. "_I know Chrom." _

And then everything was dark yet again.

**_Hehehe, my dear anonymous reader how you read me so. Yes, there are pairings in the story and some would be RobinxEltri but mostly EltrixVarious actually but pairings are more like subtle hints here since I'll mostly be focusing on the adventure genre. This one is rather short but I hope that future chapters would be longer. B I really like Kellam and Stahl. Out of the current cast, Eltri's personality matches Kellam and Stahl more than anyone. I think its because those three don't really do much that'll attract attention and go with the flow. Birds of a feather stick together right? Plus their support conversations (between the avatar, Kellam and Stahl) are nice and funny. *Especially Kellam's* _**


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